Local talent fuels ensemble comedy
There seems to be plenty of stage space for young thespians, from classroom skits to high-school plays and summer camps and programs.
What you don’t often find is a showcase for older actors -- the ones who have enough life experience to portray any character they’re playing to a “T” and are confident enough to push the portrayals to their comedic utmost.

The Senior Line class strikes a pose in the larger dance space at their new location. Larkin Dance moved to 1400 E. Hwy 36 in Maplewood. (photos by Linda Baumeister/Review)

A fixture in Maplewood, Larkin Dance Studio now has more room to stretch out.
The family-run business, which for decades has pumped out award-winning dancers who’ve made it to national television, Broadway and films, this month relocated to the building that formerly housed Minnesota Granite and Marble at 1400 E. Highway 36.

If you have ever wanted to write, direct or star in your own stage play, now is your chance. The St. Anthony Community Theater will be hosting its first ever PlayFest, where they are inviting teams of two to five people to write and stage a one-act play within 48 hours.
There will be rules each team must follow when writing the play, which will be given to the teams at an organizational meeting, held on Thursday, Jan. 30 at the St. Anthony Village High School auditorium at 7 p.m. Teams will then have 48 hours to write short, one-act plays, which they will perform on stage, starting at 7 p.m.

The Midwest Youth Dance Theater rehearses for their original performance, “Somebody to Love,” which will debut at the Drew Fine Arts Center at Hamline University Jan. 17 and 18. (photos by Heather Edwards/Review)

For listeners, the songs of “Queen” conjure images of football rallies and stadium concerts. But this week, the music of Queen will be combined with dance: modern, jazz and even ballet.
The Midwest Youth Dance Theater (MYDT) of Roseville will premiere their original performance, entitled “Somebody to Love,” at the Drew Fine Arts Center Hamline University 1530 Taylor Avenue St. Paul, St. Paul. Performances will be held Jan. 17 and 18.

The first official piece of Eternal Ware was made with the ashes of Carole’s mother, Helen Gurnon, who passed away last year. Her name is inscribed on the bottom of the memorial. (Linda Baumiester/Review)

When people make preparations for what happens after they die, the big questions are burial or cremation. From there, they’ll have to debate: monument or marker? Urn or scattered ashes?
Becoming a piece of art may not be the first thought to come to mind.
However, cremains art is a growing trend among those looking for a non-traditional burial method.

Looking for a holiday gift with a Minnesota connection?

In “Whistle Down the Wind,” three children (Mason Wold, Riley Ebner and Ellie Peterson) find a man (Andy Peterson) in their barn and mistake him for a Messiah. (photos by Heather Edwards/Review)

For most people, the name Andrew Lloyd Webber is associated with Broadway hits such as “Phantom of the Opera” and “Cats“. However, among Webber ‘s plays is a lesser -known, beautifully haunting musical called “Whistle Down the Wind,” and St. Mark’s Lutheran Church in North St. Paul is currently presenting it.

Local authors Meg Corrigan and Gloria VanDemmeltraadt are included in a recently released collection of stories entitled “Unlocking the Secrets of Success: Minnesota Women Share Tips and Strategies for Achieving Your Goals and Living Your Dreams.” (photo and video by Johanna Holub/Review staff)

One woman’s dream is another’s nightmare. But through it all, the Minnesota women featured in the recently released collection “Unlocking the Secrets of Success: Minnesota Women Share Tips and Strategies for Achieving Your Goals and Living Your Dreams” have persevered.
Joan Kennedy, 91, of New Brighton gathered the stories of 40 women working in a variety of professions to create a collection of success stories, ranging from tales of professional success to personal triumphs.

Artifacts have been missing and the body of Agatha Marple, head curator, is discovered at the museum, now a carefully crafted crime scene mystery. Attendees often took photos of themselves near the police tape body outline. (photos by Linda Baumeister/Review)

Some days its best to take a break from the perplexity of the unsolved tales of murdered or missing wives and girlfriends in our metro area and go try to solve a pretend one instead. So I invited my younger daughter for an evening out to crack a murder mystery at the Science Museum of Minnesota in downtown St. Paul.

Cliff Gebhard, 72, sits in one of two barber chairs in his shop at the corner of Minnehaha Avenue and Stillwater Road. (Patrick Larkin/Review)

For all the 84-plus years she can remember, June McAuliffe has been driven to reach people through art.
So, for her 85th birthday, she’ll unveil a show of her recent projects at Gallery 96, located in the Shoreview Community Center.
It made perfect sense to June; after all, she’d marked her 80th birthday with a show at Gallery 96.